Stupor
by InTheCompanyOfDragons
Summary: After Dean goes to hell, Sam stops returning Caleb and Bobby's phone calls. Caleb goes searching for the youngest Winchester and finds a broken man, who needs Caleb's help to be led back to his remaining family. Please comment. Positive criticism welcome. One shot unless there is more interest. Rated T for some language. Brotherhood AU


Brotherhood AU created by Ridley

Stupor

Caleb Reaves pulled up out front of an old run down house in a town somewhere in the middle of Michigan. He had finally been able to locate Sam by tracking the GPS on John's old phone that Dean kept in the glove compartment of the Impala. The kid had cancelled all of his old cellphones, and Dean's. He didn't want to be found, but Caleb wasn't sure Sam knew about his Dad's old phone, or maybe he did and didn't think the GPS was active. Caleb wasn't sure, what he was sure of was that even during their worst days, the Winchester's had never stayed anywhere that was this bad. Sam obviously didn't want to be found. Caleb walked around to the back of the house and there in all its glory was the Impala. Caleb smiled and ran his hand over the top of the car, it was his last connection to John and Dean, and there were a lot of memories surrounding her. The only other connection he had was Sam, and the youngest Winchester had disappeared on them about two weeks ago. After Dean's death he claimed he needed to go out on his own for a while, and Bobby and Caleb had allowed him to go, not that they were happy about it. His calls became fewer and fewer until they stopped all together. Caleb was worried, he promised Dean he would look out for his brother, and he wasn't about to break that promise. Caleb opened the back door of the house, and stepped over the line of salt on the ground, at least Sam was still being safe. He crept quietly through the house until he entered a small back room with no door. Sam was curled up on the floor against the far wall. Caleb frowned, the kid didn't look good, he was bruised and there was dried blood on his t-shirt, not enough to be fatal, but enough to be from a serious injury. There were empty whiskey bottles scattered around the room, the room was a mess, but all of the weapons had been put neatly back in the bag. Caleb crouched beside Sam, and put his fingers to his neck checking for a pulse. Sam's eyes opened and Caleb suddenly had a gun pointed between his eyes.

"Jesus Christ Sam, would you put that away!" Recognition dawned on Sam, and he put the safety back on and pulled the gun down into his lap.

"Caleb? What are you doing here?" Sam didn't really sound curious, just bitter and angry.

"You stopped answering your phone, had to check on you."

"I don't need a babysitter…" Sam pulled himself off the floor, but kept one arm wrapped around his waist, he put his gun in his waistband and grabbed a bottle of whiskey off the windowsill. "What do you want?" Sam coughed after he swallowed a mouth full of whiskey, and he groaned in pain.

"I just wanted to make sure you were alright." Sam grunted. "You look like crap." Besides the way Sam was cradling his chest, he had deep bags under his eyes, and was obviously drunk. Sam had packed on at least fifteen pounds of muscle in the last month and a half. Caleb knew that was for survival. He had no back up he had to be strong, be able to handle anything that came after him.

"You don't look much better, Caleb." Sam took another swig then put the bottle down. He picked up a plaid button up off the floor and tried to put his arms through the shirt, when he realized it wasn't going to work he sighed he put his arm around his waist again.

"Sam, are you hurt?" Caleb stepped forward, and Sam put his hand out in front of him and took a step back.

"I'm fine, leave me alone." Sam said, looking at the floor.

"Sam, you are bleeding, please let me help."

"I don't want your help! I though I made that clear to you."

"Maybe I don't care what you want." Caleb said quietly. "It is my job to look out for you, clean you up when you need to be cleaned up. That's what family does." Sam let out a low growl and took another drink out of the bottle.

"Piss off Caleb." Sam stared at the older man with a coldness that made Caleb step back. "You aren't him, don't try to be him."

"I'm not him, you're right he never would have let it get this bad. But I promised Dean I would look out for you." Sam laughed.

"You know how pathetic that is Caleb? Cause I do." Caleb looked at the kid in front of him, a kid who had seen and lost too much. "You know, Dad told Dean the exact thing. Ordered him to "watch out for Sammy." And he did, when we were kids, when I was at Stanford, and then he sold his soul to bring me back, all so he could keep a stupid promise he made to Dad when he four years old. Do yourself a favour Caleb, don't be a part of the Winchester legacy. Go home and leave me the hell alone."

"Sammy, listen to me." Sam tensed at the nickname, but said nothing. He took a drink and tilted his head so Caleb would know he was listening. "This isn't about some promise I made to Deuce, I mean yeah I promised him I would look out for you but it isn't just about that. Dean was the closest thing I had to a brother, and he was my best friend. I consider you my brother Sam. We're family and I care about you. Please just let me help." Sam shook his head and started breathing heavily before throwing the bottle against the wall; he folded in pain as the movement jarred whatever was going on under his shirt. Caleb reached out to steady him but Sam flinched away from his touch as if it burned him.

"Go away!" Sam screamed. "I don't want you here. Please, just leave me alone."

"What the hell is going on Sam? Dean wouldn't want this. He wouldn't want you to waste away like this." Sam shook his head and tears began to roll down his face.

"You don't understand." Caleb squatted down beside Sam and felt tears well up in his own eyes as he looked at the man he remembered being an innocent boy who knew nothing about the world of monsters.

"Then help me to, Sam please. I'm begging you…" Caleb paused and thought about his next few words. "You are all I have left of them Sammy. I can't lose you too." Sam's breathing was speeding up, and he looked up at Caleb.

"Caleb… When people get close to me they die. They all die. You can't be near me." Caleb sighed.

"Sammy, none of this is your fault. You think you are the only one who has thought that their family died because of them? Look at me, I saw my entire family die in visions, they are all gone, and we aren't Sam. We got each other, and Bobby and Mac. Please Sam, I need you." Sam let out a cry and lowered his head further to the ground, Caleb tentatively reached out and touched Sam's shoulder, and this time Sam leaned into the touch. Caleb moved forward and dragged the younger man into a hug. "It's gonna be okay Sam. Let me help you." Caleb put his arm to the boy's forehead and frowned. "Jesus, you are burning up. All right Sam you need to calm down, don't have a panic attack on me. Lay back so I can look at what's wrong."

"M'kay." Sam slurred and laid back on the sleeping bag he had been using earlier. Caleb pulled up Sam's shirt and exposed a bloody bandage, he pulled it back and saw a wound in Sam's stomach.

"Shit." Caleb said under his breath. "Sam is this a bullet wound?" Sam nodded his head groggily.

"Got the bullet out. First one grazed my arm, second one I pulled out when I got back."

"You got shot twice? What the hell were you hunting that had a gun?" Sam laughed.

"I wasn't hunting, I was the hunted. Gordon Walker." Caleb frowned.

"What are you talking about Sam? Gordon's dead."

"He had friends, and apparently when you get kidnapped by a demon, and brought back from the dead, people start to believe the stories."

"Your shoulder looks infected Sam, I'm gonna kill these guys."

"You can't blame them Caleb, they are just doing what they know. They aren't exactly wrong anyway." Caleb sighed, Sam always found a way to see the good in anyone, except for himself.

"You're a hunter Sam, you have done nothing wrong."

"It's not about what I've done, it's about what I am."

"And what do you think you are Sam?" Sam looked at his friend with a frown.

"Dean didn't tell you?"

"Tell me what Sam?"

"Yellow eyes has plans for me."

"We don't know that for sure. Hold your breath." Sam held in a scream as Caleb dumped alcohol over Sam's wounds, and when he regained his breath he continues.

"I talked to him in Cold Oak, I know what he wants." Caleb stopped bandaging and looked at Sam hard. Why hadn't Dean told him any of this?

"Demon's lie Sam. You know that."

"Not this time Caleb, the sad part is, Yellow eyes never lied to any of us. He always told truth, because the truth hurts more."

"What did he tell you Sam?"

"He wanted me to lead his demon army, against the humans. I guess he figured my loyalties should lay with him."

"Why would he think that?"

"Because of the demon blood."

"So what? Blood doesn't make you who you are."

"So what does? Experiences? I have spent my life surrounded by death Caleb; I have killed people, and tortured them. What does that say about me?"

"Sam, you have always done the best you could. You fought with all of us when you thought something was wrong. You are the most moral kid I have ever known. I don't care what yellow eyes told you, or what your destiny is. I am telling you right now, that you are a good person. You and me Sam, we are going to make Dean and your Dad proud. But for now, you need to sleep off this infection and stop your drunken ramblings, because you are going to regret all of this in the morning."

"Yeah probably, but we are just gonna forget all of this happened tomorrow right?" Caleb smirked.

"Yep, because we don't do chick flick moments. You are gonna come back to Bobby's with me to heal up."

"Caleb…"

"That wasn't a question Sam."

"I'm not a kid anymore, you can't tell me what to do." Caleb laughed, Sam sound like a petulant child.

"You will always be a kid to me, Sammy."


End file.
